any help would be tremendously appreciated

i have a 3 years old 3mm neopreme scubapro suit with around 5 dives on its tag, i am wondering as i read online that neopreme can release toxic gases that cause brain damage, is this true, and can it be applied to my 3 years old scubapro suit? (i am worried about brain damage)

Hazards of Neoprene | eHow
http://www2.dupont.com/Plastics/en_...and FDA Status of Neoprene Solid Polymers.pdf

Do you have a reputable source for your concerns? What scientific studies have you seen?

---------- Post added August 20th, 2014 at 03:09 PM ----------

I have been looking around for information, and the only thing I can find is a handful of articles promoting a competing product.

That could explain a lot about the local LDSs. They are breathing that stuff all day long. ;-)

boulderjohn:

Hazards of Neoprene | eHow
http://www2.dupont.com/Plastics/en_...and FDA Status of Neoprene Solid Polymers.pdf

Do you have a reputable source for your concerns? What scientific studies have you seen?

---------- Post added August 20th, 2014 at 03:09 PM ----------

I have been looking around for information, and the only thing I can find is a handful of articles promoting a competing product.

Click to expand...

GreenSmith Consulting: I Hate to Break it to You About Neoprene, But....

this is my source, i just hope it is nothing but baloney for promoting their product

Are there potential toxicities to formaldehyde and toluene and so on? Of course there are. But the doses required for toxicity are orders of magnitude greater than anything you are going to be breathing, simply from being in proximity to finished neoprene items.

This is one of the favorite health store things to do -- tell you something contains a poison, but not tell you that the amount that is in the substance is so minute as to be harmless. Remember that you will be in contact with your neoprene for pretty short periods of time, too. It isn't as though you were lining your house with it. And your neoprene isn't even new, and new neoprene would be the most likely to be emitting any volatiles. All these substances disappear into the air pretty quickly.

Yeah, I found that.

The issue is not the neoprene--it's the seam adhesives that use toluene. Here is a study:
Leaching of toluene-neoprene adhesive wa... [Environ Sci Technol. 2001] - PubMed - NCBI

As the article you read quotes (and then goes on past without drawing any conclusions), toluene is frequently sniffed by people looking for a high. If they do it enough, they can indeed get brain damage.

I think there is a big difference between 1) intentionally sniffing toluene glues repeatedly for a high and 2) getting an occasional whiff of some seam adhesive, especially since the gas escaping from the seam adhesive will dissipate in time.

If you need to make some repairs on your suit and are still concerned, here is a toluene-free neoprene seam adhesive: http://www.amazon.com/McNett-Black-Neoprene-Repair-Adhesive/dp/B005PN1A3S.

I know a lot of brain damaged scuba divers, but I think it's from drinking, not neoprene.

Seriously, I wouldn't worry about it. People have been wearing neoprene for 60 years, I think it's about the bottom of the list of things to be concerned with when you dive.